DRACUT — The town is one step closer to presenting plans for the Campbell School building project to voters, according to Superintendent of Schools Steven Stone.
A 15-member team has selected the Mount Vernon Group, a Wakefield-based architectural firm, to design the project. The team was composed of representatives of the Massachusetts School Building Authority, the Permanent School Building Committee, as well as Assistant Town Manager Victor Garofalo, and Stone.
With the selection of a project designer, “the fun part begins,” Stone told the School Committee at its June 10 meeting.
The town now enters the next stage of the MSBA’s multiphase approach to approving construction and reimbursement for the project. MSBA approval is required to receive any reimbursement for the project.
Hill International was selected earlier this year as the owner’s project manager, another requirement to move to the next phase of development.
Stone told the School Committee he is pleased that the Mount Vernon Group was selected as the designer because they were the architects for the Dracut High School addition and renovation project and for the Richardson Middle School.
Even years after these projects, the firm continues to be responsive to questions from the School Department about the buildings, Stone said.
The MSBA provides reimbursement to municipalities for part of construction costs based on a point system.
Tyngsboro was originally slated to receive $28 million in reimbursements for an $85 million middle school construction project. Lowell was slated to receive $210 million for a $340 million high school building project. Both communities were hit with inflationary overruns and the state stepped in to help with those.
Presenting the Campbell School project to Town Meeting and then to a ballot vote is at least 18 months away, according to Stone. A two-thirds majority is needed to pass Town Meeting and then a simple majority of voters in a town election must approve the project.
